Silent Night
by LittleKnux2008
Summary: McKayWeir: A late night chat develops into something else...


**Silent Night**

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Rodney McKay looked beside him at the speaker, Elizabeth Weir. Even in the darkness that surrounded them, he could see her face. He smiled slightly before following the woman's gaze to the water that stretched beneath and beyond the balcony they stood on.

"It is," he agreed, resting his forearms on the banister. The noise of the black waves lapping against the land was oddly calming. Rodney stared out into the large expanse of dark water. Standing here now, he could understand why he'd seen Elizabeth standing out here so often during the night. He could never know what she had to go through each day, but somehow the peace of the water seemed to instill hope within her.

Elizabeth glanced over at Rodney out of the corner of her eye. It hadn't surprised her when Rodney had walked up to her a few minutes ago, joining her on the balcony. He had said that he couldn't sleep, and Elizabeth didn't doubt it. Carson Beckett had been the one to inform her of what happened. Rodney and Zelenka had been working on a piece of new ancient technology when it flashed. At that point, Carson had gone on about something or another (neurons, maybe? She wasn't sure). By the time that she'd zoned in again, he was speaking English. The flash had disorientated the both of them and left them blind. By the time Carson had gotten to examining them, Rodney's vision was returning slowly, but Zelenka's eyesight wasn't recovering. The last of it that Elizabeth had heard before retiring to her quarters was that the other scientist could make out outlines of things. She had no doubt that Rodney felt guilty for what had happened. As callous and obnoxious as everyone else thought he was, she knew better. It was nights like these, in which they both found their way to the serene outlook, that made her rethink everything she thought she knew about Rodney McKay.

"You're scheduled go to another planet tomorrow," Elizabeth said. It didn't matter how long she'd been introduced to the Stargate, it still amazed her.

"Oh, good, another flirt fest," Rodney said dryly, and Elizabeth looked at him oddly. "The major and Teyla," he elaborated, rolling his eyes. "They don't stop. I mean, Christ, can they just get together already?"

Elizabeth laughed, her smile lighting up her face. "Only you would look at love like that, Rodney," she said, her voice half-joking. Rodney was silent. When Elizabeth turned to face him, she found him gazing out to the sea, lost in thought. "Rodney?" she asked, frowning a little. Had she said something wrong?

"Sorry, I was just…" he swallowed tightly, "…dozing off."

"We should both get some sleep," Elizabeth stated, not sounding too eager for the idea of trudging back to her quarters so soon. "You guys are leaving early in the morning."

"Yeah, which reminds me… Why must we go on missions so early in the morning?" Rodney asked, facing her. "It can wait until the afternoon, you know."

Elizabeth smiled faintly. "You leave in the mornings so when you come back with God-knows-what sort of problem, we can fix it before you go to bed." Rodney smiled. She was right. Nearly every time they went off-world something happened. Elizabeth sighed. "I worry about you guys, you know," she stated softly.

McKay looked at her, his eyes assessing. "You shouldn't," he told her, his voice concerned.

"But I do," Elizabeth replied. "I worry about whether you'll come back."

"We'll be fine, Elizabeth, we're always—"

"Not the team, Rodney, _you_," Elizabeth said. Rodney was taken aback.

"Me…" he faced her, his confusion showing through his expression. "Why?" he asked a moment later.

"I…" Elizabeth stopped and shook her head. "Never mind. We should go get some sleep," she mumbled, turning away from him and heading toward the doors back into the building.

Rodney stared after her for a moment. Acting on impulse, he jogged after her. He grasped her forearm gently, stopping her. "You what?" he asked. Elizabeth looked away from him, feeling infinitely small. There was nothing to distract him and he obviously wasn't going anywhere. She looked back up at him, meeting his eyes. It took her a long moment to regain her voice.

"I care about you, Rodney," she whispered, her mind memorizing the surprise written across his eyes, "A lot more than anyone. More than John, more than Teyla, more than Aiden..." she trailed off.

"I…"

"You what, Rodney?" Elizabeth asked after a moment, the teasing tone that was meant to be in her voice only barely making itself heard.

"I never thought I'd hear you say that," he hedged, looking at her now with a different expression in his eyes. Elizabeth was wary. It would be her luck that he didn't—her thoughts were cut off as Rodney's hand touched her cheek, his touch soft and gentle. "I feel the same way," he said. Everything—every word, every emotion—that could not leave his lips, she could see in his eyes. Slowly, tentatively, Rodney leaned down, kissing her tenderly. Elizabeth raised her arms around his neck, kissing him back.

Minutes later, as Elizabeth was walking back to her quarters, she realized that the smile would not leave her lips. Her cheeks were aflame and she felt the undeniable urge to giggle like a schoolgirl. Elizabeth laughed aloud at herself, but deep down, for the first time in quite awhile, she was happy.

No matter what dangers and tribulations that the Pegasus Galaxy threw at Atlantis, Elizabeth now felt a newfound hope. She could deal with that—she could deal with anything—as long as Rodney was by her side.

And now he was.


End file.
